A few minor adjustments to this chapter as well. Disregard that little
message at the end of chapter one about not replying to this address that
was accidently left over from when I was posting from a different address,
you can reply to this address till your hearts content. Anyway, I would
appreciate c&c for this chapter as well, and I hope you enjoy.
-Greg Housley
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: Ranmatreasure2.txt
TREASURE HUNTER: Chapter 2
A RANMA 1/2 FAN-FIC
BY:GREG HOUSLEY
(Disclaimer)- Ranma 1/2 with all of it's characters and situations belong to
Ms. Rumiko Takahashi. I take no claim over the rights to her work and have
written this fic purely in fun.
<o+++-------------<o>-------------+++o>>
Later that day Ranma Saotome sat atop the Tendo household roof watching the
sun descend into the Tokyo horizon. He had been sitting there for a little
over two hours with no interruptions. Nabiki had remained silent the rest of
the journey home and proceeded to disappear after getting back, while he
hadn't seen Akane since early that morning. The rest of the family was as
normal as usual, so he pretty much had the entire afternoon to sort out his
feelings for himself. Which he had found to be more difficult then he had
first anticipated.
'One week...' He repeated to himself remembering what the man had said.
'One whole freaking week to wrap up any obligations.' He scratched the back
of his head in thought. 'Any obligations...' He emphasized inwardly.
'Obligations like Akane...' the thought struck him as foreign. 'Akane's not
an obligation is she? I mean sure the engagement is arranged but I'm
certainly not obligated.' I want to, he wanted to say, but he couldn't even
admit it to himself. 'Stupid tomboy would probably be glad to be rid of me.'
He spat in distaste. The sun began to sink into the horizon slowly
disappearing from view, at this the sky began to take on a fiery orange
glow. 'And what of my other fianc�'s..? Shampoo... Kodachi... Well not
really a fianc� but no less than my others I suppose... And then Ukyo... . .
. .' His mind began to consider the pros and con's of choosing to leave.
'I'd lose the hassle of every harebrained martial artist in Japan trying to
attack me for some imagined wrong doing...' He added this to the pro's. 'But
then I might lose Akane...' This was a con. 'I'd lose all these engagements
that I didn't even ask for...' He seemed to brighten at the thought, but
then realized the downside to this. 'But that would mean losing Akane...' He
looked down at his fingers, he was keeping score. 'That's two for two.' He
concluded. 'What else... There's good money involved. I can send money to
both mom and pop. Not to mention the Tendo's for their hospitality. There's
also travel and adventure involved. That's a major plus...' He looked over
at his pro's hand and saw it was leading by three. 'But I would lose
Akane...' His con hand lifted three more fingers in response and he realized
he was out of fingers. 'Rats!' Before he had time to remove his shoe his
attention was averted at the sudden sound of footsteps.
"Ranma?" Akane asked as she approached him from the left. "What are you
doing?" Her voice seemed to carry genuine concern.
Ranma, caught off guard, slung his hands behind his back. "Me? N-nothing!
Nothing at all!" Akane's face seemed to darken slightly, and Ranma threw his
hands back in his lap giving them a quick glance and then chuckling
uncertainly.
"What are you hiding?" She demanded, trying to peer around his back and see
what it was he had hidden back there.
"Nothing Akane! What makes you think I'm hiding anything?"
"What do you have behind your back?"
"Nothing, geez Akane, besides it's none of your business."
"None of my business is it?!" She stomped her foot. "I'll be the judge of
what is and isn't my business!" Akane was yelling now and Ranma wasn't going
to back down.
"Your such a stupid tomboy! Do you have any idea how lame that sounds?!"
"Stupid am I? I'll show you stupid!" Akane removed her mallet from wherever
it was she kept it and brought it up in an attack position.
'I'll lose Akane...' the thought seemed to unexpectedly echo through
Ranma's mind in just enough time to both evade her mallet's onslaught and
come to his senses.
"Akane, I'm sorry!" He apologized before she could ready another blow.
"What-?" She asked stunned.
"I was just doing some thinking and you surprised me is all."
"Thinking?" She asked not moving.
"Yeah, I've got a lot to work out." He was surprised at how this seemed to
be working.
She let the mallet slide from her hand to the roof and sat down in a slight
confusion. "Like... What?" She asked a little hesitantly.
"Well, I'm not really allowed to talk about it, but it has to do with the
job. It requires a lot of travel, and should I accept it, it could be a long
time before I come back, and then it would probably only be for a short
visit.
Akane seemed to consider this. And looked up, his meaning dawning on her.
"Long...time, huh?" She whispered. "What have you decided?"
"I'm not sure right now... It seems to be a chance of a life-time but still
it leaves alot of things unresolved." Akane nodded her understanding.
His last statement seemed to linger in the air as the sun finally seeped
beneath the horizon leaving only a faint amount of light present. Akane
watched as it finally disappeared and then looked back at Ranma. "Ranma...
What is it?"
"Huh?" Ranma grunted dumbly.
"The job! What is it?!"
Ranma's stomach seemed to cringe he was afraid this question would be
asked. "Akane I've told you I'm not allowed to discuss it." He closed his
eyes tightly waiting for the inevitable to begin. Akane didn't notice the
gesture in the faint light.
"You can trust me, Ranma!" Akane encouraged.
'Run away, Saotome!' He heard an idle thought plead. "Akane it's not my
place to decide who I can and can't tell." 'Run away NOW, Saotome..! Don't
wanna!'
"So you're saying you can't trust me is that it?" Akane's voice took an
edge that was all to familiar to Ranma.
"Akane, please try to understand this was not my decision." 'Are you
crazy?! RUN AWAY!' The voice pleaded. 'Don't wanna!'
"Ranma you know good and well I wouldn't tell anyone, whoever those people
are would never find out! Why is this so important?"
"You tell me Akane?!" 'Oh so you wanna die? Okay I get it... masochist!'
The thought accused. 'Mas-o-what? Ranma asked not sure how his subconscious
knew words he didn't. 'Look it up!' It answered. In his argument with his
subconscious he failed to keep up with his argument with Akane.
"- To you again! Are you even listening to me..? Ranma?!" Was all that he
caught.
"Yes Akane! Geez..! Now what were you saying?!" 'Stupid...' *WHAM*
"I don't believe you!" She screamed. "You can't even stay focused in an
argument!"
"Akane!" Ranma screamed. Akane stopped her rant and blinked at the
pig-tailed martial artist. "Do you know what mas-o-chist is?" He asked
stuttering on the words pronunciation. Akane seemed to flare a bright blue
aura.
"What?! What'd I do?!"
Akane raised her mallet high. "BAAAKAAAAA!" The mallet came down with
lightning speed, though Ranma was just quick enough to sidestep the blow. He
however did not count on how quickly she would recover and basically sat
still for the next assault. *WHAM*
"Uhhhhhhh." Ranma moaned. "Akane." He tried weakly. *WHAM*
"Stupid... Tom..Boy..." *WHAM*
Akane looked down and realized for the first time what she had done. Ranma
was out cold.
"Ranma..?" She whispered. No response.
She picked the unconscious martial artist up and cradled him in her arms.
She then proceeded to carry him down into the house and into the Kitchen.
Kasumi as usual was just finishing up on dinner and turned to find Akane
cradling Ranma in her arms. "Oh my!" Kasumi gasped. She walked over to Akane
and looked Ranma over. Take him into his room and lie him down on his futon
Akane, I'll be there shortly with a warm cloth and some bandages."
Akane thankfully obliged her sister and carried Ranma up to his room as
instructed. She lied him down on his futon and stared down at him yielding a
hint of guilt as she did. Kasumi shortly entered into the room with the
promised cloth and bandages and kneeled down next to the battered boy.
She began to feel around his forehead and his scalp with her hand and
gasped. "Goodness Akane, who did this? This is horrible!" Akane remained
silent. Kasumi, without hesitation took the warm damp cloth, and began to
wipe down Ranma's face. She did so for a few short moments then lifted
Ranma's head to apply the bandages. Once through she checked over her job
and let a smile. "There!" She said triumphantly. "Akane, go tell the others
that dinner is ready!"
"Yes Kasumi." Akane acknowledged, and then slipped out the room to do as
asked.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dinner was as expected relatively quiet. Ranma still lay upstairs in his
room, While Nabiki hadn't been seen since early that afternoon. Akane still
harbored feelings of guilt but didn't wish to speak of them to anyone, while
Soun and Genma discussed man and dog eating habits. And Kasumi seemed to be
in her own little world which at ones guess might consist of gingerbread
houses and yellow brick roads. Aside from the two absences it wasn't all
that relatively different.
Once dinner was finally over Akane, after helping Kasumi with the dishes,
went upstairs to check on Ranma. She entered into his room only to find an
empty futon and a discarded bandage.
"Ranma?" She asked glancing around.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Stupid..." Ranma mumbled under his breath as he rubbed his head. "Can't
explain anything to that tomboy."
He had been walking for five to ten minutes by now and was still
understandably angry. The sidewalk seemed to slip by unnoticed beneath his
feet as his mind kept replaying over and over what had transpired earlier on
the roof. "It'll never work... Never, never never!" His head continued to
ache all over and it only served to deepen his anger. "I'm in..! Anything to
get me away from that psycho gorilla." He grit his teeth together in an
attempt to calm himself, and proceeded to slow his breathing down. "Okay....
I'm calm..." *BAM!* He smashed his fist into the concrete wall off to his
right. "Okay, so I'm not!" He looked at the large dent his fist had created
and then felt the pain set in. "OWWWW!" He looked at his fist and found it
scraped and red. "I swear, I can't believe that uncute idiot!" He remarked
dropping his fist to his side. He took a right at the corner and continued
his walk. "First chance I get, I'm telling Nabiki!"
"Tell me what?" He heard a voice ask.
He looked up to find Nabiki was standing several feet from him. "Uh, oh hi,
Nabiki." He responded uncertainly. "Where'd you come from?"
"No where particular..." She looked him up and down. "What happened to
you?"
Ranma felt his anger rise again, but not at Nabiki. "That stupid, uncute,
idiot, Gorilla-"
"I take it my little sister happened..." Nabiki remarked under Ranma's
ramblings.
"-Built like an ox, tomboy-"
"Ranma..." Nabiki tried.
"Horrible cook-"
"Ranma!" She snapped. "Okay I understand, sorry I asked, geez."
"Huh? Oh sorry." He replied sheepishly.
"Now what were you going to tell me?"
"Huh?" Ranma looked up at her slightly confused. "Oh yeah! About that
job..."
"Yeah I've been doing some thinking about it too." Nabiki interrupted.
"Well, what have you decided?" Ranma asked curiously.
"Walk with me Saotome." Nabiki motioned with her hand. They both turned,
with Nabiki leading the way. "I've been doing some checking up on these
guy's." She looked over at Ranma to see his response and continued. "Not a
lot is known about them. What I could find though, is the name Sean Oliver
is legit. And very disliked. His story about enemies checks out too. It
seems everyone wants to know what he knows, in fact I had a hard time
inquiring about the man without being interrogated myself."
"So what do you make of it?" Ranma asked genuinely interested.
"Well based on that and a few other facts I'm willing to give him the
benefit of the doubt. He seems real enough, so I'm starting to lean in the
direction of accepting his offer. What about you?" She arched an eyebrow.
"I'm in. So long as it gets me out of here."
"You sure that's not just your anger talking?" She asked noticing him
snarl.
"What do you think?" He asked, pointing at his head.
"I think your heads always lumpy."
"That's not what I meant."
"We're here."
"Huh?" Ranma asked confused at the abrupt change of subject. He looked up
at the building they were now currently standing in front of. "Agatsum
Sake?" Ranma asked reading the sign aloud.
Nabiki sighed. "Yep... Good ol' Uncle Agatsum."
"Uncle?!" Ranma asked surprised.
Ignoring Ranma's confusion Nabiki pushed on and through the front door.
Ranma dutifully followed her silently wondering what this was all about.
Inside the air was thick with smoke, which forced Ranma to cough a few
times before finally adjusting. He took note how it didn't seem to bother
Nabiki, which only caused further confusion.
The room was filled with men of all sorts, and Ranma did his best to just
ignore them as they passed through the mass of tables to the bar. Nabiki
continued on in the lead, oblivious to the stares that seemed to follow
them.
Once they finally reached the bar Nabiki took a seat and ushered Ranma into
the one next to her. She sat in silence waiting patiently as the man behind
the counter finished up with a customer. Once finished, his eyes seemed to
follow along the bar as if searching for new customer's until finally his
eyes settled on Nabiki. He squinted for a second, and then his eyes seemed
to brighten with recognition. "Nabsy?" He called.
Nabiki seemed to smile at this. "Uncle Agatsum?" She asked back.
"Nabsy! It is you!!!" The man's face lit up. "It's been too long!" He
walked over to where Nabiki was seated. "What can I do ya for, girl?"
"Something hard, it's been a rough day." Ranma seemed even more surprised
by this.
"And what about you young lad?" The man asked looking over at Ranma.
"Oh, uh... No-nothin for me, thanks." Ranma replied unsure
.
He walked back to where he had come from and grabbed at a series of bottles
checking at their labels. Once satisfied he picked up a small glass and
poured in the contents of the bottle and passed it down to Nabiki.
He then walked back over to the two with a question on his face. "So Nabsy,
what brings you here? I haven't seen you in over a year! How's your father
doin? Oh and how about Kasumi, and little Akane?"
Nabiki let out a small giggle, which only added to the evening's surprises
for Ranma. Nabiki grabbed for the shot glass and emptied its contents in one
hardy gulp. "Oh, uncle, They're all doing great!" She replied cheerfully.
"Just great! How's the bar holding up?" She asked.
"Oh...Same ol' Same ol'." He chuckled. "So how's my girly? What can your
uncle help you with?" Nabiki pointed at the shot glass and he obliged by
filling it up again.
Nabiki grabbed at the glass and just as before gulped down its contents.
"We're looking for some information." She said while wiping her mouth. She
pointed at the glass again and again he filled it up.
"Information huh? Well you've come to the right place! You're ol' uncle
knows just about all there is to know 'bout this town." He let out another
warm chuckle and Nabiki giggled along with him.
She gulped down another glass and looked back up at her uncle. "What do you
know about Sssean Oliver?" She asked growing a bit more serious.
Her uncle seemed to pale a bit at the name. "Sean Oliver? What in blazes do
you want with a fellow like that?" He glanced down at her glass and without
even being asked, filled it up again.
"Nothing really." She lied. "Jutht heard his name floating about and it
thruck my curiouthity." Ranma blinked as he noticed Nabiki's speech start to
slur.
"They say the dead follows that man." He whispered. "No sir, not a man to
trifle with." Nabiki looked down at her neglected glass and gulped up
another shot. "It's rumored that a dead book, some Egyptian relic to the
afterlife, he found it! Some say he used it on his unborn child. Some nasty
stuff that is. His wife died after its birth." He filled Nabiki's glass
again.
"Yeth, but that'ss a bunch of hocuth pocuth. What real infoooomation can
you tell uth?" Despite being a little uncomfortable, Ranma was finding it
hard to bite his tongue.
"He hunt's treasure... Born in London some forty years ago to an
archeologist couple... Uh," He paused in thought. "They died when he was in
his early twenties, unexplainably I believe. He travels with two other
companions; I don't know their names though. Hmmmmm. There's a lot of people
who want him dead." Ranma's eyes began to grow at this, though Nabiki didn't
seem to show any real concern. "Most of what I've heard is simply rumors
anyhow. I've never met the man personally, some say he doesn't even exist."
Nabiki took the glass and sluggishly sucked down the alcohol. She slammed
down the glass and hiccuped.
"Dammit unca, keep 'emmmmm cumin!"
"Why do people want him dead?" Ranma asked realizing Nabiki was probably
through for the night.
The man diligently filled his nieces glass and looked up at Ranma. "Well
son, He's supposed to be the best, knowing countless locations of priceless
artifacts. No one's quite sure just exactly how much he has collected, but
it's supposed to be worth billions! And as I understand it he never really
had too much regard for the dead. Meaning he's pissed a lot of religious
fanatics off as well.
"Wanma? (hic) haf youuuuu met myyy uncle (hic) Igothum Thake?" Ranma looked
over at Nabiki and realized that her sixth glass had met a similar fate as
her last five. "Fffill 'er up! Unca Igothum (hic)!
"Nabsy baby, I think you've had enough for one night darlin." Her uncle
responded. He looked up from his drunken Niece and focused a stare at Ranma.
"Son, can I trust you to get my Nabsy home? Alcohol slides through her like
Teflon. As you can see she gets drunk fast" Ranma noticed the man's face
take on a serious look and nodded.
"Yes, sir." He replied.
"Good." He looked over at Nabiki and smiled. "You take care Darlin, Okay?"
"Kay." Nabiki answered.
Ranma reached around Nabiki's back and braced his arm underneath her right
armpit. "Oooooh Wanma ah neverrrrrr knew!" She responded clumsily.
He slowly began to stand up, gently bringing the inebriated Tendo to her
feet. After a few false starts they began making their way through the
debris of tables and out the bar door.
Ranma gingerly started walking Nabiki back to the house, which proved to be
more trouble than he bargained for. His mind began retracing the events of
that evening, making sure to fast forward through all the events that took
place on the roof. He began to consider all that had happened since he
bumped into Nabiki and more and more questions seemed to pop up. He looked
over at the girl as she focused all her concentration on walking and felt a
certain kinship with the girl he hadn't felt before. Nabiki was human...
"Nabiki?" He asked hoping she still had a mind for questions.
"What Wanma Wanma?" She asked looking back mildly perplexed.
"Why hasn't anybody ever said anything about your uncle Sake?"
Nabiki seemed to think extra hard on the question and almost caused her to
trip. "He'th my mom'th bwotherrr..." She finally answered. She seemed to
consider something more then continued. "When motherrr dieeeed. (Hic)
Fatherrrr went to pieeeces. Kathumi-channn tried her hardetht to comfort
him, but she wath jutht a gurl at the time. (Hic) Jutht a ity bity gurl. he
hee he." She giggled. "Akane wath toooooooo young to realithe vhat happened
and tho I didn't hafe anybody to talk toooo or comfort me." She seemed to
sadden. "And I wath jutht old enough to barely underthtand what happened to
mommy." A tear slid down her cheek. "But then Unca Thake (Hic) cammmme and
he made everything alllll better!" Her face brightened. "He wath my betht
fwiend in the whole wiiiide world. But then daddy he....he...he told unca
Thake to leave. I didn't vant Unca Thake to leave and I thaid, Nooo no daddy
don't make unca Thake leave. Butttt he did. I vater ffffound (Hic) out that
Unca Thake had inthulted him thaying he neeeeeded to act like a man and take
care of hith family inthead of thulkin like a godddd amn woman! (Hic)" Ranma
blinked. He had never heard anything like this before.
"So how long have you been goin to his bar?" Ranma continued. "I mean I
don't know many girl's your age that consume liquor like you do. Hell it
isn't even legal!"
"I tharted goin when Ah wath thixxxteen. I went there wegularly, hangin out
with my unca, dwinkin, cussin, bein one offff ta guy'th. But thenn (Hic) my
father found out, and forbid me to ever go thewe again. Well ffffuck him!"
Ranma's eyes bulged, he had never heard anyone use that sort of language.
"Scuthe me!" Nabiki weaseled out of Ranma's arms and gently fell to the side
walk. "Bluuaaahhh!" Ranma felt his gag reflex kick in as he watched Nabiki
empty the contents of her stomach onto the pavement. He had to finally turn
his head as the pugnant odor hit his nostrils.
Nabiki clumsily picked herself back off the pavement and almost fell over,
forcing Ranma to catch her. "Wanma?" She looked up into his eyes and he was
amazed at what he saw there. "Hold me." She said finally and then proceeded
to pass out.
Ranma looked down at the unconscious girl and sighed. This was the first
time he'd ever felt true sympathy for Nabiki and he wasn't sure how to
handle it. Finally he scooped the girl up into his arms and dutifully
continued the trek home.
<<o+++-------------<o>-------------+++o>>
Nabiki was in hell.... At least that's how her head hurt as she shielded
her eyes from the sunlight that penetrated through her window. "Oh gad...
Urggggg." 'What happened?' She wondered silently. She spun over on her side
and looked at her alarm clock. "7:03." She noted aloud. 'I went to Uncle
Sake's with Ranma... . . . Oh god, I got drunk... Right there in front of
Ranma.' She felt herself recoil at that thought. 'oh no... I bet the entire
family knows.' She threw off her blanket and sat up. "Oh god my head." She
said as she grabbed at her forehead. 'Daddy's going to be pissed.' She spun
around till her feet hung off the bed then gently sat them on the floor
letting her legs absorb her weight. 'Wait a minute how'd I get home?' She
realized she didn't know. She slipped out of her room and groggily marched
downstairs into the den.
The usual group of people was scattered about the room partaking in their
routine morning task. Soun was reading the newspaper, while Akane was busy
helping Kasumi ready breakfast. Genma was in his panda form and busy doing
his most favorite thing...Nothing. Akane was the first to spot Nabiki as she
was exiting the kitchen.
"What happened to you?" She asked as she brought a couple of dishes to the
table and set them down.
"I was out late."
Soun looked up from his paper and didn't even seem to notice her ruff
appearance. "Ah, Nabiki are you and Ranma going to see that recruiting
agency or whatever today?"
Nabiki was forced to blink. 'Ranma didn't say anything. Wow.' She was
mildly impressed. "Yeah though I'm still trying to make up my mind."
"Ah yes well, take your time." He smiled at her.
'Yeah that's easy for you to say.' "Has anyone seen Ranma?" She asked aloud
hoping for an answer.
"He's up." Akane replied. "I think he's ready too, though I'm not sure.
He's been avoiding me all morning."
"I'll go see!" Nabiki replied while quickly exiting.
She ran up to the stairs and first knocked on the bathroom door... Silence.
She then moved on to his room and knocked...
"...Come in..."
Nabiki slid the door open and walked in pulling the door shut behind her.
She looked down and found Ranma-chan fully dressed in her jusenkyo outfit as
she had been yesterday, lying on her futon with her hands behind her head
staring at the ceiling.
"Ready to go huh?" Nabiki asked surprised.
"And you ain't." Ranma remarked without looking.
"I just got up."
"We don't have much time you better get dressed." Ranma replied, singing
the same cadence as Nabiki had the day before.
"I know I just... Ranma..." Nabiki sighed. "Thank you." She finally
finished.
Ranma turned to face the girl, with eyes as large as saucers, only to see
her already exiting the room.
"Nabiki. . ."
<<o+++-------------<o>-------------+++o>>
Ranma and Nabiki had finally left the dojo with twenty minutes remaining,
though they paced themselves still giving their last considerations to the
offer.
"You still certain you want to accept?" Nabiki asked looking over at the
small redhead.
"I don't know. After what your uncle said I'm not sure."
Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "Ranma?" Ranma-chan looked over and realized what
she was thinking. "What did..."
"He just said a lot of people want the man dead. Said the guy is not
someone to trifle with. I dunno but your uncle seems to be a pretty bright
fellow. Just got me thinking is all."
Nabiki seemed to consider this. "Want him dead huh? I've been thinking
about what Mr. Oliver had said." Ranma looked back over at her. "All this
secrecy, and competitors, and things of a darker sort as he put it. I'm not
so sure I'm up to something like that. I mean, I'm not a fighter like you
and Akane. I deal with things differently than you guy's do. What he was
talking about seems real dangerous."
Ranma put her hands behind her head. "You think maybe we should decline?"
Nabiki sighed. "I dunno...yes!"
"Well if you decline I guess I'm with you. Besides I think the invitation
was extended to both of us as a team, not individually... Here we go." Ranma
remarked as they came to stand outside of the dry-cleaners.
Nabiki with only a moment's hesitation pushed ahead of Ranma and into the
cleaners.
They stood in the center of the room taking note that it was exactly same
as before. Only someone different was working the desk.
Nabiki looked over at Ranma-chan and then proceeded to pull out the proper
change for a coke. She walked over to the machine, inserted the yen and
pressed the button for a coke. There was a moments pause followed by a
clunk... Nothing.
Ranma-chan came to stand next to Nabiki in confusion. They both stared at
the machine as if waiting for something more but still nothing occurred.
"Hey!" Ranma said and squatted down next to the part where you get your
coke. She reached in the hole and pulled out a bottle.
"A coke?" Nabiki questioned.
Ranma popped the bottle open and began to guzzle down the beverage.
"Scuze me, miss?" Nabiki called while approaching the desk.
"Huh?" The tanned blonde asked in a high pitched voice. "You mean me?"
Nabiki looked about the room only to confirm her suspicion that no one else
was in the room except her and Ranma. "Uh, yeah your machine seems to be
broken."
"Whaaaat?" The woman asked annoyingly.
"That's funny it worked this morning." She walked out from behind the desk
and approached the machine. "Now did you want a coke or a sprite or a..?"
"Actually we wanted the passage." Nabiki said getting straight to the
point.
"Ohhhhhh, you must be that Nabiki woman. Kay." She proceeded to press the
coke button as Nabiki had and waited. Still nothing happened. "That's
funny." She remarked and then began randomly pressing buttons as fast as she
could. Nabiki noticed the machine begin to emit smoke and she smacked her
forehead. "What's going on?" The blonde asked in confusion. "Hold on I
know!" She said triumphantly and then began doing exactly what she had done
before. The lights on the machine began to dance chaotically and Nabiki took
that as a cue to back up. *BLAM*
The coke machine went up in a small burst of flame and smoke and Nabiki and
Ranma were forced to stare as they watched the now ash covered blonde smile
brightly "Oooops!"
*Ring* *Ring* The girl's head swung around at the sound of the phone and
looked back at Nabiki. "Why don't you have a seat over there and I'll be
with you in a moment! Kay?" She then hurried off to answer the phone.
Nabiki looked at the pair of seats leaning against the wall that the woman
had indicated and forced a shrug. She slowly walked over to the seat and sat
down. Ranma-chan looked back at the woman talking on the phone and then
proceeded to do as Nabiki had.
The woman put down the phone and looked over at the two girls. "I've got a
real quick errand I've gotta run so if you'll wait right there I'll be right
back." She then hastily made her way out the door.
They sat there only a short moment before they heard a clicking sound and
the floor beneath them opened up. Nabiki's eyes widened but she didn't have
time for anything else before the seats of the chairs swung down on a lever
dropping the two girls down a slick ramp. They both let out screams as they
were carried down several spirals before finally seeing an opening beneath
them and dropping through it.
*POOF*
Ranma and Nabiki fell into a couple of familiar looking chairs and ended up
staring at a familiar looking man. "Morning!" The man offered.
"That wasn't funny!" Nabiki screamed. Ranma simply sat frozen from the
shock.
The man chuckled. "Oh come now, that entrance rarely gets used. Wasn't it
fun?"
"Fun?! I'll give you fun!" Nabiki nearly tried to leap over the desk but
was caught by Ranma.
"Come on Nabiki lets just say what we came to say then leave."
"So you've made your mind up then?" He asked looking from one to the other.
"Damn right we have!" Nabiki cursed. "We want nothing..."
*BLAM BLAM BLAM* Three gunshots could be heard just up the spiral
staircase.
The man's face seemed to pale and he shot up from his seat. "You were
followed!" He pushed the chair he was sitting in out of the way and ripped a
painting off the wall revealing a keypad. "Gentlemen it would seem it's time
for a hasty departure." He entered in a series of combinations and a piece
of wall opened up revealing a door. Footsteps could be heard up the stairs
and Ranma felt her gut tighten.
The men on either side of the room had each grabbed one of the girls and
were pulling them towards the door. Sean pushed on the handle of the door
and it swung open revealing an elevator.
The two men pulled the girl's through the opening and were followed by Sean
who pushed a button on the elevator's keypad.
*BANG BANG* They began to hear the sound of someone pounding on the office
door. The doors to the elevator began to slide close and both Nabiki and
Ranma felt a tinge of terror run up their spine *BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM*
Gunshots began piercing through the office door around the handle as the
doors pulled shut and the elevator began to rise. There was a moments pause
as everybody looked at each other. Sean looked down at Nabiki. "They
followed you. Somehow they knew to follow you."
"Who is they?" She whispered.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open revealing a huge
parking garage. Sean grabbed Nabiki by the arm and one of the other men did
the same with Ranma, and they quickly exited out into the Garage and down
one of the rows.
Ranma's mind was racing, she could handle martial artist of any variety
just fine but men with guns was a completely different matter; still she had
to protect Nabiki.
They heard the elevator doors slide open again followed by several shouts.
*BLAM BLAM* Gunshots began ringing out again and the small group began to
all out run. Nabiki looked over at Sean as he pulled a large revolver from
his coat and began returning fire. Ranma and Nabiki both were forced to
cover their ears at the intensity of the sound. Ranma noticed how the shots
Sean fired seemed to miss their mark completely, and slipped out from the
grasp of the man who was leading her. She stopped and cupped her hands
together and began to charge up for a chi blast. Nabiki caught on to what
Ranma was doing pulled free of Sean and gave her a sharp look of
disapproval. Ranma-chan's eyes widened, "But Nabiki..". Nabiki cut Ranma's
protest short with a an emphatic hand gesture.
Sean caught sight of the dawdling teenagers and reached back to catch
both by their arm. "You two got mush for brains? Let's go!" They continued
on down the parking garage ducking through row after row of cars until Sean
finally pointed at a large truck.
"HERE!" Sean shouted as they came to stop at the truck. He pulled out a set
of keys and the car beeped in response. The three men quickly threw open the
doors to what looked like a large red sports utility vehicle, and stuffed
the girls inside. Sean climbed in the driver's seat and the engine came to
life with a large roar followed by a continuous purr. He pushed in the
clutch and threw the truck in reverse.
The tires began spinning with a vengeance and the truck pulled out with so
much force Ranma and Nabiki were thrown forward. Sean threw the stick in
first and again the tires squealed in response, this time pressing the two
girls in their seats. Ranma looked back over her shoulder to see one of the
men smash a window to a car, while another man continued to fire upon the
rapidly accelerating truck. Ranma and Nabiki ducked quickly as the back
window was shot out.
The truck finally approached an opening to the garage and instead of
slowing, Sean slipped the stick in forth and bolted out into a busy
intersection. Cars from both directions were forced to dodge as the trucks
back tires fishtailed into the right lane and then back into the left. Ranma
glanced back through the missing window and saw a black car attempt the same
feat, this time causing several wrecks, though the black car seemed to
emerge unscathed and resumed it's chase on the fleeing truck.
Sean glanced back into the mirror as he threw the stick in fifth. "They
would have to pick a jaguar!" He joked. The two girls were not amused.
"Just what the hell is goin on?" Nabiki finally screamed.
*BLAM BLAM*
She once again ducked and Sean let a hearty chuckle. "Initiation my dear
girl. It would seem you two have just volunteered to be our successor's!"
"What?!" Like hell?" Nabiki shouted back at the man.
"Now Nabiki, the only way those nice men with guns would know about me is
if someone was nice enough to volunteer the fact that I'm in town. Did you
not do so yourself?"
"NO!" Nabiki protested.
"Oh really?" He mocked giving her smile in the rear view mirror.
*BLAM BLAM*
"Gentlemen, I believe there is a bogie on my tail, if you would be so
kind." He addressed the other two men brightly.
The man in the front passenger seat leaned forward opening the glove
compartment, where he drew a large magnum. While the man sitting in the seat
with Nabiki and Ranma turned around in the seat leaning over and opening a
large box.
"Now Nabiki you're sure you didn't mention this to anyone other than
Ranma?" Sean drew Nabiki's attention back to him.
The man in the front passenger seat rolled down the window and proceeded to
lean out.
"Well..." Nabiki thought. "I did mention you're name to a few people."
"That's all it take's my dear."
*BLAM BLAM* The man in the front passenger seat began to fire upon the
pursuing jaguar.
*BLAM BLAM BLAM* The Jaguar returned fire.
"A young attractive girl like yourself starts digging up old graves with a
name like Sean Oliver and you all the sudden you find yourself the center of
attention. That's how they found me..! By following you."
Nabiki felt her throat go dry.
Sirens could be heard in the distance.
Ranma-chan turned around to discover the man in her seat had a box full of
grenades, and let out a gasp. He picked one up, drew the pin, and proceeded
to throw it out through the missing back window.
A large chunk of road blew up in front of the jaguar forcing them to swerve
to avoid it. But still they continued on. 'Man these guy's are nuts!' Ranma
thought to herself.
"So as you can see Ms. Tendo, there is no going back! These men have
associated the two of you with me and therefore have added you to their hit
list."
The man in the front seat crawled out the window again and let loose a
spray of ammo.
*BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM*
The pursuing jag sped up in response and unleashed a return fire of a
different kind.
*TATATATATATATATAT*
Bullets began firing right and left as the jaguar turned a machine-gun on
them.
*BLAM*
Ranma and Nabiki let a scream as a bullet pierced the seat and went through
the man with the grenades left shoulder. He screamed in pain and Sean looked
back with worry marking his face. He gave the other man a look and the other
man turned around to help his wounded friend.
"No wait! The man screamed. "Shoot out their windshield!"
"What?" The other man screamed confused.
"Shoot out the damn windshield!"
The man slipped back into his seat and back out the window.
*BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM SMASH*
The other man looked back to see the jaguar swerving at the loss of their
windshield. He leaned himself back over the seat and picked up another
grenade. "Sean brakes!"
Sean hit the brakes sending the Jaguar speeding up towards their ass. Just
before colliding the man in the back drew the pin with his teeth and tossed
the grenade easily through the jag's broken windshield. "NOW!"
Sean threw the stick in second and the truck resumed on, off it's
continuing forward momentum.
Nabiki and Ranma watched as the jag behind them let out a large explosion
and was thrown several feet into the air.
"There that ought a do it!" Sean remarked as he noticed the police stopping
at the exploded jag now blocking anyway around the road.
The man in the front seat threw off his jacket and began tearing pieces of
it up. He then leaned over into the back seat and began tying strips of
cloth tightly around the wound as to prevent blood loss.
Sean made a hard right down an ally and onto another road from there they
traveled for a few minutes until finally stopping at a large building.
Sean quickly switched off the truck and ushered everyone to follow him.
They walked into the building and proceeded onto the elevator where they
ascended to the thirty eighth floor and out onto the roof where a helicopter
awaited them.
Sean quickly walked up to the side of the helicopter and opened the door
indicating the two girls to follow. Ranma and Nabiki wordlessly climbed into
the giant copter and buckled themselves in. Sean took a seat next to them
and proceeded to do the same. The two other men climbed into the front
cockpit with the unwounded man at the controls.
The two girls were again forced to cover their ears when the choppers
blades began to come to life. Sean pointed at a pair of large earmuffs with
a mic attached and pulled one on for himself. Nabiki and Ranma followed his
lead and did the same.
Ranma felt the pit of her stomach open up when the chopper finally began to
make its Ariel ascent. It lifted up with a great force and seemed to hover
for a moment while the pilot checked his bearings.
"Where are we going?" Nabiki shouted through the mic.
"To train!" Sean answered simply.
<<o+++-------------<o>-------------+++o>>
Here ends chapter Two. REPOND!!!!!!